In may 2009 my husband bought home a very young stray puppy that was riddled with worms and wondering in a busy main road! We think he's a jack russel x daschund. We have had him ever since and he is doing great and is my best friend. Unfortunatley we are moving back to the uk , my home, and i would dearly love to take him with us but due to south africa being a rabies country the cost for the quarantine etc is near 2000! We just can't afford it :-( i have found a lovely couple who are willing to take him in but he is very attached to me, and vice versa. We think he was far to young to have gone away from his mum but we don't know his history so we were like surrogates to him. He follows me everywhere, even to the toilet to my annoyence lol!, and i need to know he will be ok when we go. If anyone has any advice to help him cope with the stress of moving i would be so greatful. Some ppl might think i'm over the top or something but to me animals are part of the family. Would it be easier to move him a couple of weeks before we go and pay him visits to give him time to adjust. I'm still hoping i come up with the funds but its looking unlikely so i just want to be prepared. Thanx so much x x

Make him meet the owners and show him theres no Need to attack

If the new owners are nice people, don't worry about your dog adjusting. We get much more attached to our dogs than they do to us, and he will be just fine. As a foster mom, I run in to this all the time with some of the dogs moping for a day or two, but most taking the change in their lives just fine. In a dogs mind, tomorrow doesn't exist, yesterday is gone, and only today means anything, and if his new owners provide affection, play, food and shelter, that's all he will ever ask for.

Association of Animal Behavior Professionals

he may be your best friend but you are rehoming and have to put the work in to make it easier for him start NILIF http://k9aro.webs.com/nilif.htm today and tell the people to continue with this..my advice is that once he goes you don't visit......it will be harder for you than him as dogs get on with life, they live in the present, not in the past like humans do. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
Write down his routine, his meal times, the commands he knows any bad behaviour he has...be realistic as routine is more important than 'new home/new people' dogs are survivors and he is.....

It's obvious you love your dog and you're doing what's best for him. Don't worry too much he'll settle in nicely with his new owners within a couple of weeks at most.

I wouldn't visit him after you hand him over to his new owners because I think it would stress him, and you too. If you visit him he'll think you've come to take him back home. Make it a clean break. It won't take him long to start following his new owners around just as he does with you.

I'm sorry you have to leave him behind, it must be so sad for you and I'm sure you'll miss him. But really, he will settle in to his new home.
I rescue dogs and it takes them a few days to settle while they get to know the routine, then it's like they've been here forever. pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com
I wish you the best of luck with your relocation to the UK.

let the new owners meet him a few times and get them to give him a few treats so he likes them, and then yea pay one or two visits before you move.... also donate a towel or blanket to him that you have slept with in your bed so that when he does move he can have this blanket in his bed and it will smell of you.. kinda like a home comfort!! :)
but tbh with you he will prob be fine within 3days dogs have emotions but they are rather different to humans, he will be confused where you gone for few days max! then he will be fine.. but he will not miss you he will remember you if he were to see or smell you again!! and then he'l act like hes missed you by jumping all over you!!.. he will be fine and so will you.. hope you do find the funds but if not, do him best by making sure his new home is just as good or better than yours and you are then doing right by him,
best of luck and welcome back to the uk in advance! the weather sucks here at the mo by the way!! :( too cold!! )

Have you checked to see whether he could come in under the Pet Passport Scheme. I'm not sure whether S.Africa is on the list of accepted countries (the DEFRA website should tell you). In this case, in effect his 'quarantine' would be done offshore, taking approximately the same time (6 months) before he's done all the necessary requirements to travel, and come straight in. If you intend to return soon, you may have to leave him with somebody, to go through his qualifications, which may, in effect mean he settles with them, only to be moved again.